The telephone is ringing again, and Shelley Scebbi, office manager for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, knows precisely what to say. "Yes, Brian Wilson is scheduled to pitch here this evening," Scebbi tells the caller. "The special tonight is to see a major league pitcher. " On a typical Wednesday summer night, the Quakes, the Class-A affiliate of the Dodgers in the California League, might draw 1,200 fans. Thanks to the arrival of Wilson, the newly signed Dodger best known as the long-bearded former San Francisco Giants closer who ended the 2010 World Series, 2,007 people clicked through the turnstiles.

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain - Some cultures take their food more seriously than others, but the Spanish may be leaders of the pack. Travelers have been coming here for the last 25 years to experience not only the growing sophistication of regional cuisine but also the miracle of molecular gastronomy. When my daughter, Madeline, announced that she wanted to spend a college semester in Madrid, I needed no more excuse to research a trip to northern Spain's Basque country, where even fare at local bars is haute and Michelin-starred restaurants inspire gushing coverage among global media.

Earlier this week, researchers reported that skipping breakfast was linked to heart disease. A few days later comes word that skipping breakfast could be a good weight-loss strategy because people don't make up for all those calories later in the day. Should we tear our hair out in frustration? Or cozy up to the scrambled eggs? “I'm very concerned about that. We in nutrition seem to put out contradictory diet messages,” said David Levitsky, a Cornell professor of nutritional sciences and psychology and the senior author of the breakfast and calories study.

Twinkies, the equally loved and reviled snack cake -- really, cakes, as we all know, since there are two of them in a package -- have returned to grocery store shelves. As a recovering Twinkaholic, I won't be running out to buy any. In high school, I bought them at the train station before going home, gobbling them fast and wiping away all evidence before my mother, one of the pioneers of the baked-not-fried movement, saw me. Later, in college and early adulthood, those creamy little cakes continued to call out to me. But finally I resisted once and for all. I'm proud to say I'm about 30 years Twinkie-free.

There is no denying that beer is delicious, but many craft beer fans will deny (or choose to overlook) the implications that a few pints may have on their waistline. While the "beer belly" is now considered a myth , beer is still a calorically-dense beverage that can add up quickly. Thankfully, the craft beer fan has plenty of options for brews that manage to be lower in calories but still full of flavor. Alcohol is the source of nearly all of the calories in beer, and the more potent the brew, the more calories in the can. Light beer has about 110 calories in a 12-ounce serving and that is simply because it is less alcoholic than its non-light counterparts.

Here is the so-called mystery: Americans are exercising more, but the national obesity rate keeps rising. How can that be? The answer is pretty obvious. As my personal trainer (the only person standing between me and a gut hanging over my belt) has told me many times, “It's all math -- the number of calories burned and the number of calories consumed.” According to data just published in the online journal Population Health Metrics, during the last 10 years Americans have gotten more active in two-thirds of the nation's counties.

Dunkin' Donuts is expected to offer two gluten-free pastries, cinnamon-sugar doughnuts and blueberry muffins, by the end of the year. "At Dunkin' Donuts, we recognize the importance of providing our guests with many options, including alternative choices for people with food and dietary restrictions,” said Michelle King, spokeswoman for Dunkin' Brands. “We understand that sensitivities to food ingredients such as gluten are a serious concern for certain guests.” People with celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disorder, avoid gluten because it attacks the small intestine and inhibits the absorption of vital nutrients into the body.

Starbucks Corp. is following other mega-chains such as McDonald's Corp. and Panera Bread Co. by voluntarily posting calorie counts on its menu boards nationwide ahead of a pending federal requirement to do so. The Seattle coffee giant said Tuesday that it will note nutritional details on all its drink listings and in its pastry cases in every Starbucks store in the U.S. beginning June 25. The company said the information is already available on...

Taco Bell will test a new Power Protein menu and zero-calorie drinks later this summer as the Mexican-style chain aims to convince Americans that its offerings include healthful choices. The Irvine-based chain will experiment first for five or six weeks in Dayton, Ohio, where it has roughly 40 stores. The company, which has nearly 6,000 restaurants in the U.S., is looking at 2014 for a more wide-scale launch of the new menu and beverages. The Power Protein menu features items that include more than 20 grams of protein but 450 calories or less. A burrito, for example, features a double portion of chicken or steak with 400 and 420 calories, respectively.

The Cheesecake Factory is at once an ostentatious den of dining and decorative excess as well as a homespun throwback to family tradition. Witness the florid murals and French-inspired checked floors, the dozens of cheesecakes in sumptuous flavors such as white chocolate caramel macadamia and the calorie-laden dishes that regularly land the chain on extreme eating lists. But behind the extravagant menu and interior design, there's a classically American story involving an entrepreneurial housewife and a cheesecake tweaked from a newspaper recipe.